NaNoWriMo Eve!

Alright, you guys, it's NaNoWriMo Eve. If I lived in Australia, I'd be furiously writing right now. But to be honest, when we reach 12am Eastern Time, I'll probably be asleep because November 1st also marks the official end of my vacation.

My novel this year will deal with a time-delayed murder and a possible ghost. It'll also be my first story set in Philadelphia.

While I should have been working on my outline for this coming month, I've been trying to get Awake edited (my Wrimo project from last year - only 2/3rds through it). I'd like to say it's going well, but I guess I'm having my doubts. Regardless, writing helps me escape other stuff, so I've already accomplished something very big for myself.

Keep an eye on the wordcount widget to your right and chart my progress. Feel free to cheer/laugh as needed.

It's NaNoWriMo Season Again...

Since I don't live near family (or extended family or friends), holidays don't mean as much to me now as they did when I was a kid. It's a bummer, because I loved holidays (or the food, get-togethers and presents that came with them).

Trying to pretend that a couple with no children can enjoy, say, Christmas without having anyone to share things with, is kind of a lot of bull (at least in my own experience). The cat would destroy any decorations I put up, and those decorations (if they're not destroyed) would be a pain to clean up in February.

Now, I'm not one of those no-fun people who begrudges YOU of having a nice time with your family, but I realize I need to focus my energy on something different instead of thinking this year might be the same as when I was ten, knowing full well it won't be.

My new holiday: NaNoWriMo.

In one month, it'll be here. The website has already wiped last year clean and gone live with it's 2010 version. The forums are ready for my obscure questions that usually start out, "I promise, I'm just doing research for a novel..."

My only problem is that I'm just not very excited this year. Maybe once I get started or get my outline ironed out, it'll be different. For now, I've been working as much as I can on Awake, trying to get it edited and ready to show to someone - but for whatever reason, it is taking me forever to get through it! I also need to finish editing The Silent Treatment so I can get that thing sent out. I guess the real problem is that I've got so much to work on right now, adding another novel to the mix might not be what I need.

On the other hand, distancing myself from my current projects might bring me back more refreshed when the month is over. I guess I'll see how I feel on Halloween night when I'm sitting in my apartment with a bucket of candy, knowing no kids are coming to my door. I'll probably want a project then.

Connecting

Now Jennifer Weiner is tweeting me!

You guys, it almost looks like I'm becoming friends with real writers. They say getting published is all who you know ...

The book in question in the above tweet, is Room: A Novel by Emma Donoghue. It was released this year, and up until a few days ago when Jennifer Weiner started stalking about it, I'd never heard of the book or the author.

ROOM sounds like exactly the kind of book I'd be interested in: I mean, come on. Mysteriously trapped in a room by someone? Sounds a lot like what I just wrote about in Awake!

As selfish as this sounds, the more support we give our female writers now, the better luck I'm going to have in the future. So, good job, ladies!

Here's a short list of fiction written by women, which I've enjoyed:

Love pt. 2

As far as making contact with published authors is concerned, it's been a very good week or so.

The latest installment involved Kyra Davis' contest for a $100 gift card to Starbucks -- which I won!

I think my first order is going to have to be a Caramel Brownie Frappuccino in honor of Sophie Katz (a drink she mentions a few times in Sex, Murder and a Double Latte).


When I'm not on Twitter ...


I'm getting critiques on The Silent Treatment. So far, the new version of the first chapter is getting really good response, so I'm working on getting the rest of the novel finished and off to some more agents. I should get to work.

Love

You guys, I think I've found my fictional match.
In 2008, I wrote a novel called The Silent Treatment; the next year, Exchange, both starring the same main character, Kat Shergill. She's spunky and sarcastic--sure she still needs a little work (and representation), but the start is there.

This afternoon, I finished reading a novel called Sex, Murder and a Double Latte by Kyra Davis. For the past 3 days, I've been thrilled that I finally found something similar to what I want to write. Sophie Katz, our heroine, is spunky and sarcastic (like my creation), but she's also sexy and has quite a mouth on her. She's bi-racial (like Kat, but not the same two races), and has the word "Kat" in her name (which I hope I won't have to change now!).
Instead of being jealous that I hadn't thought of the story first, I was happy I found another author I could identify with. (And lest Ms Davis stumble upon this blog and get creeped out by my fandom ... it's just regular, nice fandom.)

One thing this book has definitely done is given me renewed interest in editing The Silent Treatment, and possibly starting a third adventure in the series.

Another book I finished was I Was Told There'd Be Cake by Sloane Crosley. Like David Sedaris, it's best to have her read the stories to you. I'm sure she's got a busy schedule, so I got the audiobook instead.
Besides the amusing stories and laugh-out-loud moments when she said she experienced something I thought only I went through (like finding it annoying when a movie character shares my name), I was impressed by her writing ability. It was smooth, easy, and very smart. Looking forward to her next book!

So basically this week, I've been shown up by two different people: two people who write in very different styles, very different topics. Much love to them both - maybe one day I'll be able to buy them a coffee and pick their brains. Kyra, Sloane, if you're reading this, I'm serious. I have $5 with your name on it.

Nice!

Jonathan Franzen tweeted me.

Coming up with titles is hard

It's Sunday. Statistically speaking, this is the most boring day of the week for me -- and why? I slave the entire week and end up staring at the walls when I could be hanging with my famous troupe of friends? (I say "famous" but I guess I really mean "imaginary")

Getting some critiques on Awake and The Silent Treatment. Having one's work critiqued is extremely good; however, after getting the notes, it's not so good to sulk and contemplate giving up writing altogether. It's a hard process -- it's all subjective, which makes it even more difficult to give or receive critiques.
But a word to any other budding authors out there: always say "thank you". No one wants to say anything harsh; every time I have to tell someone, "I didn't connect with the main character," I feel bad - and the person who says it to me feels bad too. We're all trying to better each other, not be mean.

That being said, my manuscript is now RIDDLED with revision suggestions (which could actually make the revision easy), so I'll be busy with that for a while before I submit it anywhere else.

Still reading, too

Finished listening to Carrie by Stephen King. Boy oh boy, the man can tell a story! I love the suspense technique he used through the whole novel - I've never seen the movie or read the book before, but basically from the first chapter you know what's going to happen at the end. That's what makes it scary, though, because you're left guessing exactly how it's going to happen, or when. I'm also really impressed with the way Mr. King portrays his characters: in this story (haven't read all his stuff, so I don't want to make a blanket statement), everyone is very human. Carrie is picked on and humiliated -- oh yeah, and has telekinesis. The story ends at the place the characters logically take it, without anyone suddenly turning into a freaky monster, void of any emotion.



Music is also very good

As I may have mentioned before, music is a big help to me either while writing or just walking around the city. My favorite artist just released a new album, so I'm all over it right now. If any of you are interested in music without English lyrics, check out Tarkan's Adımı Kalbine Yaz.